BTTT
I thought you guys might want to see the letter I posted on the democratic underground forum. It was addressed to war protesters, from a military wife.
Dear Protesters,
I am writing to you as a military wife and as a spokesperson for every military family member I know. (I can't speak for all military families, obviously, just the ones I know ---who have ALL agreed with me.)
Please stop your anti-war campaign. It is ill-informed and destructive: Destructive to our country, to our families and to people around the world. You do not understand what you are doing.
We hear from our husbands, Special Forces soldiers who are serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Philippines, Colombia, Honduras, the Sudan, Djibouti and other countries, about what's really going on. They send us pictures, pictures that would certainly give you pause and maybe even change your mind. Women and children suspended in the air from Ribar poles driven through their heads by terrorists. Nine-year-old boys forced into prostitution after being gang-raped by male village leaders. Little girls mutilated for the crime of seeking an education. Men chopped into a dozen pieces because they dared to disagree with their oppressors.
My husband and my friends' husbands are fighting to end these crimes. They call us in tears because of the atrocities they've seen committed in the name of Allah. They are fighting to end these atrocities. They are fighting Al Qaeda in Paraguay. They are fighting Hezbollah in the Philippines, they are fighting Colombian FARC in the middle east. These are not typos, despite the fact that obviously these terrorist groups have no significant interest in the countries where they stage attacks. There is a "global terrorism network." They share resources. They help each other. They train each other. Our husbands have been fighting terrorists all over the world since long before 9-11. Including, yes, during the Clinton administration.
I've spoken on the phone with Iraqis who repeatedly say "Thank you, America. Thank you George Bush." I have Kurd friends in my hometown of Nashville, Tenn. who say they and their families back in Iraq will be eternally grateful to America for literally saving their lives and culture.
This is what you are protesting. Every time you stage a war protest you encourage the bad guys and demoralize the good guys.
For every Abu Ghraib guard, there are thousands of other soldiers like my husband. Trained medics who risk life and limb to treat villagers and vaccinate children in the far reaches of the world. I've seen pictures of my husband, covered in the blood and vomit of the poor people in the countries where he's been sent. He goes to help them fight their wars and he administers medical treatment to these people. He was devastated in Colombia when he couldn't help a 6-year-old boy who was blown to pieces by a FARC bomb that the terrorists hid in the tire of the child's bicycle. He speaks admiringly of the native fighters in all of these countries who take up their weapons, often with very little training, and valiantly defend their homelands against brutal terrorists. These terrorists have no code of honor. They don't even flinch at the idea of slaughtering innocents.
I understand, probably more than most, the pain of losing American soldiers in war. I've lost friends. I've comforted their wives and children. My husband recently captured a high level terrorist who joked that he would cut off my husband's head and broadcast the decapitation on Al Jazeera if he ever got the chance. Then, in the next breath he thanked my husband for treating him with more respect and dignity than he would have used. I live with the daily fear of losing my own husband and having to explain to my son that daddy is never coming home.
But I wouldn't want my husband to stop what he's doing.
I'm not particularly religious, but there's a Bible verse that says something to the effect of "to whom much has been given, much will be expected." Like it or not, America has to be the world's police force because we are the only nation with the resources to do it. We can't turned a blind eye on suffering. To do so would be unconscionable.
Please keep all of this in mind the next time you congratulate yourself for "supporting the troops and their families". We don't feel supported by you.
Sincerely,
gbwife